AT&T’s Network Updates: Good for Apple, Good for Customers

AT&T’s (NYSE:T) 4G LTE network, notorious for being much smaller than that of rival wireless carrier Verizon (NYSE:VZ), received a boost this week as the nation’s second-largest service provider announced the expansion of its high-speed network to 15 new markets. With these new additions, AT&T is making its network more compatible with Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) latest iPhone 5, iPad, and iPad mini.

On Friday, AT&T announced that its LTE service would be available in ten new cities: Boise, ID; Boulder, CO; Bowling Green, KY; Harrisburg, PA; Hartford, CT, Lancaster, PA; Lexington, KY; New Haven, CT; Ogden, UT; and Providence, RI. These new additions are the second network update that the carrier has made this week. On Tuesday, the company expanded the service into five new markets: Green Bay, WI; Melbourne, FL; Oxford, MS, Springfield, MA; and Tucson, AZ.

The new cities bring AT&T’s total number of 4G LTE markets to approximately 135. In comparison, Verizon offers the service in 470 markets, after adding 29 new markets on Thursday, and Sprint (NYSE:S), the nation’s third-largest carrier, offers it in 49 markets.

By the end of 2013, AT&T plans to have the service accessible to 250 million people and 300 million people will be covered by the end of 2014.